Introspection and navel-gazing are not Darryl Sutter's favorite activities. The Kings' coach is blunt, more likely to look ahead than to over-analyze the past in search of great cosmic meaning.

So, when asked about the peaks and valleys his team experienced during this lockout-shortened season, Sutter was typically direct.

“There's no highs and lows,” he said. “Highs and lows right now are for them guys that are 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. They have highs, they have lows.”

The Kings earned the No. 5 playoff seeding by beating the San Jose Sharks, 3-2, Saturday at Staples Center on second-period goals by Kyle Clifford and Slava Voynov and a third-period goal by Justin Williams, earning a standing ovation from the announced sellout crowd. The Kings (27-16-5) will open the playoffs this week against the Blues at St. Louis on a date to be determined. The sixth-seeded Sharks will face No. 3 Vancouver. The NHL is expected to release the full playoff schedule Sunday night.

The Kings reached the highest of highs last season when they won the Stanley Cup. That no team has repeated as champion since the Detroit Red Wings won in 1997 and 1998 underscores the difficulty of being the team that opponents target all season.

“When I played the defending champs before, you'd look at it and you'd circle it on the calendar,” center Anze Kopitar said. “It was a challenge for us and I think we did a fairly good job.”

Sutter's plan for this 48-game season was simple: reach the playoffs and prepare his team to win four rounds again. The Kings climbed as high as fourth until they lost at Minnesota and Detroit last week, and St. Louis passed them to end their hopes of having home-ice advantage in the first round.

“There [were] stretches there when we didn't have time to think because we were just playing and traveling and playing,” center Jarret Stoll said.

Maybe it was better that way.

“It probably was, in a sense, to sometimes just play the game because we needed to get our game back, get ourselves going again,” Stoll said. “It was a weird year.”

They started slowly. Goaltender Jonathan Quick, the playoff MVP, struggled to regain his mobility and sharpness after undergoing back surgery. His job was complicated by injuries to bruising defensemen Willie Mitchell and Matt Greene, who had kept opponents accountable and balanced the defense.

Trade acquisitions Keaton Ellerby and Robyn Regehr have been solid replacements and rookie Jake Muzzin progressed well enough to play key minutes. “The reason we made the playoffs is because of Muzzin and Ellerby. Very simple,” Sutter said.